Last week was a very emotional week in Israel as we went from the Ashes of Holocaust Remembrance Day, to the sorrow of the Remembrance Day for the Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror to the joy and celebration of the miracle of Israel’s 70’th Birthday on Independence Day.

Of course these events are all interwoven and the key in many ways to understanding them is Aliyah.

Had Aliyah been open and free during World War II, there would have been no Holocaust

Without large scale, open Aliyah, the wars of Israel couldn’t have been won, the country couldn’t have been established, couldn’t have thrived and grown to the miracle it is today.

These are all 17-19 year old kids who came on their own, with no family and are in our program for nearly a year. About half of them are from Ukraine.

In the picture you can see the ones still in the program and the ones who completed it and are now serving as lone soldiers in the IDF! They came to mark this day with us, to give thanks for all the assistance they received and to inspire those still in the program.

What a privilege to take part in this prophetic work!

As you know, we are concerned about the future of SELA and our ability to bring some 200 new olim on the program in the fall of 2018. We thank you for all your support and ask that you stand by these brave new olim also next year.